Photo taken on Dec, 1, 2020 shows a mobile phone running the TikTok app in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The main goal of TikTok is to build an inclusive community of rising creative talents and connect them with relevant industries, said Raghda al-Azab, TikTok's MENA and Pakistan communications manager.
"Our mission is the same whether globally or in the Middle East, and it is inspiring creativity and bringing joy," al-Azab told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Since TikTok's launch in the Middle East, she said, it has been keen on building a community of rising talents and helping these talents get the right exposure.
She said that the latest initiative TikTok launched in the Middle East was the signing of a partnership with Gemini Africa, an investment company dedicated to the promotion and incubation of young entrepreneurs, through which both sides will work closely on developing entrepreneurs in the filmmaking industry.
"We have also been very keen to support good causes and support the communities that we operate in," al-Azab said, noting that TikTok worked in the past few months with a number of United Nations agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Al-Azab said TikTok is very proud of its community in Egypt at all levels, pointing out that Egypt has a huge talent pool.
"This is very evident in the creative content that emerges from the market. We see a lot of rising talent in filmmaking, music, and sport. We also see how engaged they are with good causes," the regional manager told Xinhua.
"We are very proud that our community always shows solidarity to other communities and other causes whenever they are needed," she said, citing TikTok's support for various UN agency pleas.
Speaking about the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, al-Azab said TikTok provides its community with the right access to accurate information about the pandemic and prevention methods.
"We know that everyone now consumes digital content, and we know that now basically everyone has very short attention span ... so TikTok started to deliver messages, important messages in a very short, creative and engaging way," she revealed.
One of the things the company worked on with the WHO was the handwash challenge where participants washed their hands for 20 seconds while singing in a bid to raise awareness about avoiding infections.
"We also worked on a campaign called Thank You, Heroes. This campaign covered the Middle East region and it aims at enabling our community to show solidarity with the medical staff who have been on the frontline fighting the spread of the pandemic," al-Azab added.
TikTok, a global popular short video sharing app, set up its Middle East base in Dubai in January 2019.
The app surpassed 2.5 billion downloads globally last month, according to app analysis outfit Sensor Tower. Enditem
